Honey badger
Gail and Dave Coleman were enjoying a calm Sunday afternoon when they suddenly heard their dogs, three Dobermans, barking aggressively in their yard in Zwartkrans.
Upon investigation, the couple found their dogs fighting an aggressive honey badger. They ran inside the house and called the dogs. It is believed they wanted to protect their dogs from the badger and called them to get them inside. Once the dogs were inside, the security gate was closed, but despite all their efforts to prevent the badger from entering the house, the smart animal wiggled itself through the gate. Badgers are known for their intelligence and perseverance which explains the behaviour of the attacking animal.
The honey badger bit Gail on her ankle. She had to get five stitches.
The animal continued to attack the dogs. Then it turned on Gail and bit her on her ankle. Gail said the animal would not let go and it seemed as if its jaws had locked. The dogs repeatedly bit the body of the badger, but it did not respond. Honey badgers have very thick, tough, loose skin which makes them seem to be unaffected by pain. They are also able to rotate through almost 360 degrees within their own skin, making it nearly impossible for anyone or anything to get a steady grip on them.
Dave decided to intervene and was finally able to drag the badger off Gail's ankle, but as soon as the badger released her ankle, it turned on Dave and bit him multiple times.
He then made the difficult decision to drown the badger in the swimming pool. The entire fight lasted about 15 minutes and both Gail and Dave had been bitten by the animal. They left the badger next to the pool and sought medical attention.
The following day, the state veterinarian was contacted to collect the animal. It was later made public that the badger did in fact have rabies.
Trevor Roberts, owner of Conserv Security, said he was pleased the advice his men gave to the couple aided them in their well-being. He also said the area has many species of wildlife as it is a large unfenced area.
"We are no strangers to wildlife sightings in this area," Trevor said. "In the past we have recorded sightings of leopards, hyena and even caracals. Honey badgers are indigenous to Southern Africa and they are seen quite often in nature reserves, but they tend to stay away from humans because of their shy nature.
It got rabies, it was no longer shy. However, it's quite possible it had no virus in saliva yet, because it appears there only in the final stage, behaviour change is first. Anyway, vaccination in this case is practically a must (one of rare cases where vaccination is effective also AFTER the exposure).